Union of Free Colonies
The Union of Free Colonies, officially the Koch Republik after the restoration, was a rebel faction and later an independent nation which was first established during the Human-Covenant War. It was regarded as the first independent human faction to be officially recognized by the UNSC since 2209. History Origin The concept of the UFC began circa 2548, when a group of eight rebel sympathizers operating within the Marine Corps escaped from their patrol on a small Inner Colony world. They would soon escape to Kyyrson City, the trouble-haven capital of the remote colony, there, they began to recruit followers for a new splinter rebel faction. In the beginning, they were struggling to recruit anybody and could only encourage approximately one hundred people to join the cause, only six of which with any military experience. By the end of the Human-Covenant War, they had convinced around 80,000 more people to "enlist" from nine different colonies with the help of an increasingly effective propaganda campaign. After a short few months, their composition had grown to a hefty ninety thousand followers and proudly declared war on the UNSC. Civil War/Collapse of the UFC Throughout the War, the Union was severely outgunned. The largest warships they had were a trio of partially damaged Frigates, which was no mat. UFC forces were forced to utilize the guerilla style of warfare to capture munitions, otherwise they would have lacked the firepower to keep up with the UNSC. Union leadership hated having to resort to guerilla warfare because it made them look like uncivilized rebels and not a new government. This tactic did work for some time, prolonging the war effort by over twelve months. However, these efforts were not working as planned. By February of 2555, 77% of UFC forces were captured or killed. Almost all ships were captured or destroyed, therefore the UFC was forced to surrender. All UFC-affiliated people were forced to join the UNSC or be imprisoned, though a few were able to escape authorites. Most of these fugitives traveled to United Rebel Front territory. Restoration/Beginning of the Koch Republik In early 2572, a former Union commander, Ulrich Koch, who was currently located in URF territory, began recruiting volunteer families to travel outside the human sphere and form a new nation. Many people, who disliked having to live in the vicinity of the UNSC, volunteered, and within a few months, Koch had recruited over 600 people for the trip. He then purchased an Alaska-class Superfreighter from a pirate group and began loading it with supplies. In a few weeks, the freighter left URF territory, and to maintain legality, the ship took the designation CS Twilight and claimed that its cargo was a load of agricultural equipment bound for a Second Rim colony. When the Twilight reached its destined system, or so the authorities thought, the ship mysteriously vansished from UNSC radar as it had left UNSC territory. Surprisingly, the UNSC did not pursue which Koch had hoped would happen. For three months, the freighter travelled aimlessly, looking for a suitable colony. Finally, in February of 2575, the Twilight had finally come across the ideal planet which Koch named New Deutschland after his homeland of Germany. They founded the capital of Reich City and established the Koch Republik. Over the next few years, the group established a small farming community in the heart of Burrae, the planet's largest continent located in the Northern Hemisphere. Having established a new civilization, Koch returned with twenty men to rebel territories to "liberate" more civilians. Ulrich was able to persuade the captains of ten small smuggler ships to join him in bringing people to the Republik. The ships, packed with over 15,000 people (which made for an uncomfortable, yet managable ride), returned to New Deutschland. Sangheili Arrival In 2581, a group of Sangheili Neutralists had caught notice of the freshly colonized planet. Since they were the outcasts of their race, and with no home to return to, the group asked Koch for permission to settle the planet. Koch happily accepted their offer in return for additional Neutralists to be told of the location. The group, which numbered at around 12,000, settled approximately 300 miles north of Reich City, forming the city of Rehctolo. A number of the inhabitants of Rehctolo were skilled miners and began harvesting metals for crude, wheeled vehicles with the help of the knowledge of the humans. A number of inhabitants of Reich City joined with the Sangheili miners and formed the Rovola Company. With the help of a few more "recruiting runs" by both species, the Koch Republik had reached a population of 80,000 by 2584 and had five different settlements. This was all thanks to the Republik's fleet of twenty-two ships. Growth In early 2584, the Rovola Company began attempting to produce their own weaponry for the Republik for a number of reasons, though it was primarily because of possible raids by other rebels and pirates. The Koch Republik did already have small numbers of T17's, M3A3's, and MA5's, though ammunition from their location. To solve these problems, Rovola created the Rovola-1, an FMJ firing weapon with a number of Sangheili markups, making the weapon highly efficient. When the new police forces were created, they were armed with the R-1's, and the Republic Militia soon followed. Soon after, a UNSC Prowler discovered the growing colony, but after an inspection on the ground, found no illegal activity being carried out by the government. Koch surprisingly showed no signs of resentment as he was not interested in warring with humans and allies. While the UNSC was performing this task, the Rovola-1 caught their eye because of its Sangheili enginuity. Ulrich, a shrewd bargainer, offered to produce R-1's for UNSC use in return for colonists willing to emigrate to the KR. At first, the UNSC did not want to carry out any acts of diplomacy with a rebel faction, though they eventually accepted, offering to transport a maximum of 10,000 colonists per year to New Deutschland, though the KR also had to pay a small sum of money per year, though the benefits were quite worth it. At this time, the UNSC also built an embassy in Reich City along with small barracks which housed twenty Marines to watch for illegal activity. In the mid-late 2580's, the Sangheili Empire fell into its worst economical slump since before contact with the San'Shyuum. Thousands of commoners that were worried that the Empire would collapse traveled to other locations, including Loyalist territory, Neutralist territory, and the Koch Republik. This immigration, combined with incoming UNSC colonists, initiated a sort of golden age for the Republik. The nation went from seven settlements in 2586 to twenty-eight in 2590 and a population of approximately one million. This exponential growth began to slow when the UNSC cut their contract with the KR to one quarter of what it previously was. To try and make up for this obstacle, the Koch Republik colonized three asteroids in the nearby Fragua Asteroid Belt for mining purposes. These extra metals allowed the Republik to expand their arsenal. By 2591, the colony had a fairly well armed militia of 40,000 soldiers, though their training was not ideal. To further strengthen their economy and nation, the Republik offered to devote 20,000 of their soldiers to fighting alongside UNSC and SE forces in return for reasonable payments and vehicles. The UNSC, which did not require the additional strength at the time, declined the offer, but the Sangheili Empire did, assigning the KR soldiers in various invasion forces which all attacked within months of the KR's arrival. To Ulrich Koch's dismay, the forces were ill-prepared for the battles they participated in. To fix this, Koch contacted UNSC leadership and requested that a military training boot camp be constructed on the outskirts of Reich City and be operated by occupying Marines, and in return he would raise the payment amounts that the KR was giving to the UNSC for the immigrating colonists. The UNSC agreed and began the New Deutschland Military Training Program. To compliment the newly improved militia, the Rovola Company designed the R-10 Vanguard Light Battle Tank and R-11 Traverser Scout Vehicle, both of which became great additions to the Koch Republik Armed Forces. Category: Halo: Infinity